A truck with filled cylinders departs from bottling planting to Puma Gas exchange points
Blue Ocean LPG Bottling Plant has partnered with Puma Energy Ghana, to support the government clean cooking initiative and the safe transportation of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
The partnership has so far seen the distribution of more than 1,025 cylinders to six local communities as part of the plan to distribute over 15,000 cylinders by December 2024.
The partnership between Puma Energy and Blue Ocean is to foster access to clean cooking providing innovative solutions to low-income households that would not otherwise have access to LPG.
These initiatives aim to improve the health and environmental welfare of citizens by transitioning them from traditional fuels like wood and charcoal to cleaner, more efficient LPG.
According to the Ghana Statistical Services’ 2022 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS) report about 25% of households in Ghana use clean fuel and technologies for cooking.
The government is therefore actively promoting LPG use and aims to reach a 50% penetration target by 2030.
Blue Ocean’s cylinder distribution process aligns with the National Petroleum Authority (NPA)-led Cylinder Recirculation Model (CRM) project to increase access to clean energy for cleaner cooking.
Over 60 Puma Energy retail outlets and 40 community exchange centres will serve as distribution centres to deploy over 15,000 filled cylinders of various sizes.
Currently the filled cylinders have been deployed to Puma Energy’s retail service stations in Nmai Dzorn, Adentan, Kissehman, amongst other places.
Further distribution is expected to be carried out across communities in rural and urban areas in 11 regions by the end of 2024.
Zwelithini Mlotshwa, General Manager of Puma Energy Ghana, an affiliate of Blue Ocean Investments, emphasized the value of the partnership and the contribution of the partnership to enabling Puma Energy’s commitment to the clean cooking initiative.
“As partners in this programme, we are committed to enabling access to clean cooking to improve the well-being of unserved communities. We believe that by reducing household reliance on harmful traditional cooking fuels, we can make a positive impact on both people’s health and the environment,” he said.
“The plant guarantees safety and accessibility, it is a welcome boost to energy efficiency in Ghana and makes it possible to implement the Cylinder Recirculation Model (CRM) project,” said Michael S. Kyeremanteng, the Operations Manager, Blue Ocean LPG Bottling Plant.
Alongside governments, private sector companies, international organizations and civil society, Puma Energy joined the Clean Cooking Declaration at the International Energy Agency (IEA)’s Summit on Clean Cooking in Africa in Paris in May 2024, a commitment to making 2024 the pivotal year for clean cooking.
By participating in the declaration, Puma Energy pledged to take concrete steps towards advancing the clean cooking agenda, through action on the ground, raising awareness, and fostering greater collaboration among the key stakeholders.
“With our partner Blue Ocean, Puma Energy is proud to advance clean cooking solutions in Ghana too,” added Zwelithini Mlotshwa, General Manager of Puma Energy Ghana “We believe that LPG for clean cooking is a critical solution to Africa’s energy transition – offering healthier and cleaner cooking alternatives that benefit both people and the environment.”
A Business Desk Report